Category: style

Hi everyone! I’ve been MIA for a hot second, but thats because I have been working on a lot of projects for my new apartment! I have been doing a lot to make my new apartment my own and to make it feel like home, and just seeing the final product of these chairs has inspired me to continue. This project was my favorite one, and I have been so excited to show it to you! I am gonna show you lots of before/after shots and tell you exactly how I achieved the perfect style for my taste!

Let’s start with the origin of these chairs. My grandpa has been in a nursing home for over a year now due to a stroke. Unfortunately, we do not think that he will ever be able to return home and live on his own, so we have been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing of his house. My grandpa was what some may call a hoarder, but I’d like to refer to him as a collector. It just sounds better and is more mysterious. He has just about anything anyone could ever want, including tires, engines, old cars, tools, nick nacks, cooking appliances, lawn care appliances; seriously, you name it, he has it. SO, we go over there to do some minor cleaning and my dad sees these chairs. Turns out, there are 6 chairs to the set and they are basically hidden sporadically throughout the house. After we find all of them, I was convinced that they needed to be saved. We could only find 5 of the chairs, and one was completely snapped in half, but I figured I could make something out of it. These chairs are probably somewhere around 60-70 years old, if not older. They belonged to my great grandma and were just passed down.

Now, onto the process. These chairs were in bad shape. The varnish was just naturally coming off of them, some of the rungs were broken, and they were just really dirty. Everything about them was just…old. Here is an example of the state these were in.

As you can tell, I didn’t have much to work with here. I starter with covering the seats since I wanted to upholster them, and I thought it would be fairly easy. I went to JoAnn Fabrics and got 5 seat cushions, or foam squares, and picked out a pattern that met my fancy. I picked this multi-colored, mandala-ish pattern because I liked the colors and I thought it would give the apartment some pizzazz. This is the pattern I chose.

To upholster the seats, I took the seats off of the chairs, which basically consisted of using a screwdriver and unscrewing the screws from the back/bottom of the chairs. I then had 4 chair seats, and one seat that would become a bench. Lucky for me, my foam squares matched almost perfect to the actual shape of the seat. I ended up cutting off some foam on the sides but then adding it to the top since my seat was a bit longer vertically and it was narrower at the back of the seat than the front. I then covered the foam and the seat with my fabric. (I got 2 yards of fabric, and I just cut it myself into squares by just putting the seat + foam on the fabric and drawing in marker where I wanted to cut it, leaving room for the fabric to cover the top completely and enough room to staple the fabric underneath the seat). I left about 3-4 inches of fabric on each side so I had enough fabric to be stapled onto the bottom of the seat. Now, this was my first time ever upholstering anything, so it was a learning experience for me. I looked a bit into it on Pinterest, but other than that I was going in blind. I stapled, with a staple gun, the sides of the chair first, then front and back. I saved the corners for last. When doing the corners, I found that it was easiest to slightly twist them so that you can pull from both sides of the fabric, and finally I stapled that corners down. I finished 5 seats in a matter of an hour. I was pleasantly surprised by how little effort was needed to do this. This was my final product for the seats.

Next up, I had to make the decision of what color to paint the chairs and how I was going to do it. I decided that I wanted to use minimal effort and high efficiency when painting these chairs. I am not a woman with patience, so spray painting the chairs was the best option for me. I went to Menards and picked out 2 colors because I am indecisive and impulsive. My gut told me that navy blue and grey would look good together, so thats what I bought. I bought Rustoleum spray-paint with primer included, because if you can kill two birds with one stone, why not? I’m all about saving time because again, I am impatient and I desire immediate results. I sanded down and washed off the chairs, and then began the painting! I ended up using 1 can each for all of the chairs. It took me about 2 hours to paint all of the chairs. I did 2 coats each since I missed some spots the first time around. Here are the results of the painting.

This is the chair w/o the seat before paint.

This is the chair after; a totally new chair!

Aaaaaaand the final result of all of the chairs painted (don’t mind the messy garage; my dad has some spring cleaning to do!).

I let these sit about 2 days just to make sure they were dry. Today, my dad and I screwed the seats back on to the chairs, and they turned out better than I ever imagined. I feel like these chairs now have a second chance at life!

And viola! The final product!

***BONUS DIY: How To Make A Stool Out Of A Broken Chair***

Earlier in this post I said that there were actually 6 chairs; one was lost in the house somewhere and the other was snapped in half. Well, I couldn’t just leave the snapped one there. I was originally just going to use the broken one for practice; the seat was fine and the legs were fine, the back had just been broken off.

As you can see, it was a pretty gnarly break right off of the back of the chair. Halfway through my project with the chairs I decided to give this little broken chair a second chance too, so I made it into a stool! I proceeded with the same process as all of the other chairs, I upholstered the seat, and cleaned the chair. But obviously, I didn’t want a stool with wood sticking out to poke someone! So my dad and I sawed the broken part off and made the frame completely even all the way around. We then sanded it and cleaned it off so it was ready to paint. Finally we screwed the seat on and viola, an adorable stool!

I hope you guys liked this DIY because I was super excited to show you how to do it! More DIY’s coming soon!

I will start this off very simple. Kohls has amazing deals, therefore I buy a lot when the deals are in season. If you’re a member, then there are even more deals. Lucky for me, my mom is a member and got a crazy amount of coupons! I have been looking for clothes that I can wear for work this summer in an office setting, so I picked up a few things for that purpose!

First off, I found this adorable baby-doll shirt for $10.00 from the brand Rewind. It is black with a silver/gold collar, and I think it would look cute with jeans or white dress pants. You can definitely dress this up or down for any occasion!

Next, I got this very simple periwinkle (it looks grey, but its more purple-ish) t-shirt for $9.00 from APT. 9. I thought this would go well again with white dress pants and accessorized with pearls!

This adorable asymmetrical bay-doll shirt caught my eye because of its bright blue and funky pattern! It is from the brant ELLE and I got it for $10.00.

This one looked more comfy to me than anything, and I am allllll about comfort in the workplace! I am a huge fan of stripes as well, so it really worked for me. I got this for $8.00, also from APT. 9. The sleeves also attracted me because they flare out at the ends, and of course the opening in the chest is a bit edgy!

My final, and favorite shirt I got was this adorable red long-sleeve from ELLE again. It is a very silky fabric and I am a huge fan of the ruffles! I got this for $10.00.

We also had $20 in KohlsCash and 20% off the whole purchase, which brought them down even more. Love the deals, love Kohls!

This weekend I did a lot of adventuring/shopping/bargain hunting and I came out with some pretty solid deals! I am gonna tell you guys where I shopped this weekend, what I purchased, and how much they were!

Saturday my mom and grandma came up to Kent State for a visit. We ate at Mike’s Place. If you ever happen to find yourself in Kent, Ohio, you should definitely go to Mike’s. They have an array of food, but especially lots of breakfast food selection! It is usually the place to go after a long night out (since pancakes fix every problem, including a hangover). Then we went to downtown Kent. It was a pretty rainy day, so it wasnt very fun walking around downtown, but we managed to get to Peace, Love, & Little Donuts. We also went into Gracie Lane, which is basically a little shop with jewelry, scarves, Vera Bradley, and just kind of girly stuff. This brings me to my first purchase!

I picked up this adorable t-shirt from Simply Southern at Gracie Lane. It was $17.00, and I absolutely had to have it. I just loved that back, and I feel like it will be super cute for the summer!

Next we went to my favorite place, Gabes. I had to take my mom and grandma there and teach them the ways of bargain hunting. I have 2 jobs this summer, so I have been looking for some work professional clothing/outfits. I got lucky at Gabes this time!

My first item is palazzo pants! I have worn pants similar to these in the past, and they are just so comfy! They look cute, they are super comfy, and you can wear them for any occasion. You can easily dress them up for an office job, or dress down for going out. These are Robert Louis pants and I got them for $8.00.

I got this adorable skirt from Gabes as well. I got it for $12.00. It goes a little bit past my knees, but I think it would be super cute for spring/summer. It also seems like it would be very comfortable and freeing!

My mom and grandma also got lucky! My mom got a few different skirts for work as well, and toys for my dog. My grandma got a cute polka-dot button down and this gorgeous painting for her hallway!

Today, I went to the Aurora Farms Premium Outlets in Aurora, Ohio with my friend Sammy. I went into this spree thinking that I wouldn’t get anything, but I was very wrong. They had so many great deals!!! Let’s start with my items from Banana Republic.

If you know me, you know that I absolutely hate wearing shorts. Shorts are the devil for thick girls. I have quite thick thighs, and I am not ashamed, I just personally do not like my inner thighs rubbing together until they bleed (yes, this has happened before). BUT, every year I try shorts because who wants to be in pants in 80 degree weather?? SO this is my attempt for this year, and I think I am in love. These shorts are long enough to cover where I usually rub, and short enough to not look like awkward jorts. They are sooo comfy and almost a little stretchy, and the patterns are adorable for summer. I got both of these on sale for $7.00.

Next I got these adorable shirts! I think these would be great as office attire as well. The green shirt was $7.00 as well, and has an adorable tie-up front. It is a super comfortable material and I plan on wearing it with one of the pairs of shorts I got. The grey stripes was $10.00, and I am in love with the sleeves! They are so unique, and there are cute embellishments around the neckline as well. (Peep my pink toes, oops.)

My next stop was Coach. I didn’t even want to go into the store, because as a bargain shopper, Coach isn’t exactly the place for deals. BUT, today was different. My friend Sammy wanted to go in, so I followed, and little did I know that everything in the store would be 50% off of it’s already marked down price! I could not pass up this deal!

I got this adorable tan/gold wristlet! It has cardholders on the inside, and I decided to use it for my keys and cards that I cary with me at all times. This beauty was originally $75.00, and I ended up taking it home for $19.00! This was such a steal, and I will carry it with me wherever I go. I am so excited to use it!

Finally, I am gonna show you guys my OOTD for shopping at the outlets!

I got my sunglasses a while back from Charming Charlie’s. I think I split them with my mom and they were like 2 pairs for $15.00. My shirt is from TJ Maxx, and it doubles as a dress (or, I guess it is a dress that doubles as a shirt, lol). I just tie them in a knot in th front or on the side and it’s fool proof! I think I paid $10.00-$15.00 for it. My jeans are form American Eagle, and they were $45.00. My shoes were from Kohl’s and I got them a few years ago and I think they are the brand SOS. I think they were anywhere from $10.00-$20.00. Finally, my purse! My purse is from Plato’s Closet, and it is a Steve Madden. I stumbled upon this gorgeous thang over spring break and I have been using it an wearing it ever since. It matches so much that I wear, and it is big enough to keep all my crap in. I can imagine this was originally very expensive, but I go it for $16.00.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my weekend and all of the things I bought! Thank you for tuning in and I will probably show you guys future outfits that incorporate these clothes! Ciao!

Hello! I hope everyone had a fabulous week and that you have fantastic plans for this weekend! My weekend started early since my 4 friends and I don’t have classes on Fridays, so we adventured today! We tried new things and had a great time. I also got to try out a super cute Gabes exclusive outfit, and I am so excited to show you guys!! Let me know about your exciting weekend plans!

First off, we adventured into Stow, Ohio where we settled down in a little breakfast cafe called Stownut Donut & Diner. We all got donuts to start off our morning of adventures. My favorite is chocolate custard donuts, which they luckily had! The diner had a super cute 50’s vibe, and the people there were so pleasant! Next, we drove to Akron, Ohio where we went through the Akron Art Museum. We took a lot of pictures and enjoyed the art. None of us are art majors, but it was fun to go and look at the different creations people have made. (Insert picture of me pretending to understand this work of art titled, Untitled by Morris Louis).

After the museum, we ventured around Akron a bit and stumbled upon a cute coffee shop called Akron Coffee Roasters. It was a quaint little shop. I ordered a latte, and it was absolutely delicious. It was also in a very aesthetically pleasing cup and had a design drawn into the foam on top.

Finally, we traveled to another area in Akron where we went to a thrift shop. I forget the exact name of the shop, but it was huge and had a wide variety of clothing and home decor for super cheap. I didn’t get anything today, but I am looking forward to going back if I have any cool DIY ideas for clothing or something along those lines. As you know, I love shopping for the deals, and thrift shops are just the place for deals! Especially if you are going to DIY, you don’t want to spend a huge amount on something that you could potentially mess up, or at least that’s just me. We finished our adventure with a stop at Pizza Fire, where I proceeded to eat an entire pizza after only eating a donut all day.

Finally, here is the Gabes exclusive outfit that I have been so excited to show off!

As I mentioned, every item of clothing is from Gabes! I know that I have shown you guys the purse and the shoes, which I have obviously turned into stable wardrobe pieces. The shoes were $8.00 I believe, and the Bueno purse was $16.00. My dress was $12.00, and I absolutely love this look for spring! The navy is dark, but with the off-the-shoulder look paired with the lace on the flowy sleeves, it screams “I am a spring-time fairy, look how awesome I am!!!”. This outfit was also super comfortable and perfect for my adventure today.

I had a super fun day, and I have great plans for the rest of the weekend as well. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend as well and were inspired to go somewhere new! Ciao!

Tonight my friends and I went to dinner in Downtown Kent. There’s a lovely little restaurant/bar called Ray’s Place that has the best burgers in town. My close friend, Sammy, is switching colleges in the fall, so we went out as a last “hoorah”. This time of year, Downtown Kent is so gorgeous, so we had to take a few pictures (taken by our friend, Alex!).

Fortunately, Sammy shares the same interest in fashion and style as me, so you get to see two outfits today! I will tell you where everything we are wearing is from and how much! Enjoy!

I will start with Sammy. Sammy’s shoes are from the one and only, Gabes! They are Steve Madden flip flops and she got them for a steal; $8.00. Her adorable, distressed denim skirt is from Forever 21 for $20.00. Finally, her shirt came from Windsor for around $23.00.

My outfit almost a Gabes exclusive. My shirt (which is actually a swing dress) is from Gabes and I got it for $10.00. It has a lace up front, and I just tied the dress on the side in a stylish knot. My tomgirl jeans are from American Eagle and they were around $40.00. My shoes are from Gabes. I love that they are a little retro and have a platform to them. I got them for $8.00, and they are so comfortable! They match a lot of outfits that I wear, so I am sure you will see them again! My purse (that I have been DYING to wear out) is from Gabes, and I got it for $16.00 (brand: Bueno). It is so cute and perfect for spring! I got so many compliments on it tonight, so I will definitely be wearing it out again. It also fit all of the essentials such as my phone, wallet, keys, and even had a little extra room!

This spring/street style was perfect for a dinner out and walking around downtown. It was super comfortable and airy, which are my favorite qualities in an outfit! I hope you enjoyed this and our outfits tonight! Stay tuned for a new post tomorrow; I will be adventuring around Hudson, Ohio and would love to show you my outfit and tell you about my day! Ciao!